In an effort to reduce the cost of conventional fin and tube photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collectors a novel mathematical analysis was developed which determines the optimum absorber plate configuration having the least material content and thus cost, whilst maintaining high collection efficiency. The analysis was based on the "low-flow" concept whose advantages include: improved system performance, smaller pump (less expensive with lower power consumption), smaller diameter tubes requiring lower thickness and thus cost of insulation, less construction power and time for the optimum absorber configuration. In this novel thermoeconomic optimization, the mechanisms of heat transfer from the fin to the tubes of the absorber plate and expressions of absorber plate material content and thus cost were identified and developed to allow for the absorber plate parameters (tube spacing, tube diameter and fin thickness) of the fin and tube PV IT collector to be optimized. In order for the useful collected heat (or thermal efficiency) of the PV/T collector to be held constant, the optimization procedure was based on holding constant the value of the PV IT collector efficiency factor.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:618680 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Charalambous, Petros G. |
| Publisher | London South Bank University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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